Clayton Mullins tackles Cincinnati QB Tony Pike during the Bearcats 45-20 romp.
In his first career start for the University of Cincinnati, quarterback Tony Pike lit up Miami University's defense.
Pike completed 20 of 24 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-20 rout to claim the Victory Bell over Miami University.
"Defensively we had a bad night," Miami head coach Shane Montgomery said. "We didn't force them to punt one time."
Pike had thrown just 38 passes in his career before Saturday's game. He started in place of senior Dustin Grutza, who fractured his right fibula and suffered from a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of the Bearcats game against then No. 4 Oklahoma September 6.
Grutza, who passed for 514 yards and four touchdowns in two games, is sidelined for an indefinite amount of time because of the injuries.
"I was very impressed with (Pike)," Miami senior linebacker Joey Hudson said. "It's the second year in a row where their backup quarterback makes his first start and beats us. We didn't expect him to be as mobile as Grutza but he was. We didn't do a very good job of accounting for him on third down."
The Battle for the Victory Bell is the nation's oldest non-conference rivalry. The RedHawks lead the series 59-47-7, but have lost the last three games to their rivals.
Cincinnati's John Goebel opened up the game with a big 43-yard kick return to the Miami 28-yard line. The RedHawk defense held the Bearcats there, however, forcing a three-and-out, resulting in Cincinnati's first field goal attempt this season.
The Bearcats upped their lead to 10-0 after Goebel scored on a five-yard run later in the first quarter.
Miami played a sloppy first period, making several mistakes early in the game. Several missed tackles allowed Goebel's long opening kickoff return. On the first RedHawk possession, center Josh Satterthwait snapped the ball to an unsuspecting Daniel Raudabaugh who was looking a different direction from the shotgun, and the secondary allowed Pike to convert two crucial third downs.
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When the team settled into the game, however, the 'Hawks put together a 17-play, 75-yard drive that consumed the last eight minutes of the first quarter and took Miami all the way to Cincinnati's one yard line. With three chances to punch into the end zone, the RedHawks stalled and settled for a field goal to make the score10-3.
"It hurts that we had three shots from the one and we couldn't get the yard," Raudabaugh said. "I'm not concerned with our red zone offense at all. We just got to man up and punch it in."
Pike answered quickly for the Bearcats, throwing the first touchdown of his collegiate career to junior Marshawn Gilyard just three-and-a-half minutes after the Miami score. Down 17-3, the RedHawks found themselves in a first half double-digit deficit for the fourth game in a row.
"You saw the scores today," Montgomery said. "There are a lot of good football teams in the MAC and we just can not afford to get behind like that."
Once again, Miami methodically marched the ball downfield. This time, the Red and White made sure to get a touchdown. Aided by two defensive pass interference calls against UC, Miami scored on a10-yard bullet from Raudabaugh to Armand Robinson to make it a 17-10 game.
A 20-yard Goebel touchdown run capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive to give the Bearcats a 14-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Miami managed to move into field goal range as the half came to a close, sending the RedHawks into the locker room down 24-13.
Starting the second half with the ball, Miami scored on its second consecutive possession when Raudabaugh launched a 34-yard pass to Chris Givens in double coverage. Givens out-jumped his defenders to grab Raudabaugh's second touchdown toss of the game and cut Miami's deficit to 20-24.
"Chris (Givens) is ferocious when the ball is in the air," Raudabaugh said. "He did a great job of making a play and getting in the end zone."
After the touchdown, the RedHawks converted on a surprise onside kick attempt, a gutsy call that gave Miami its third consecutive possession of the game. Inside Cincinnati territory, the RedHawks looked poised for a startling comeback when Raudabaugh threw his third touchdown of the game. This one, however, went to Bearcat defender Mike Mickens, who intercepted Raudabaugh's pass and ran it 72 yards the other way for a crushing score.
"It was the biggest play of the game," Raudabaugh said. "It killed momentum. It stopped everything we were doing. We just scored and we kicked the onside kick-executing well and getting things going in the right direction, then I go and shoot us in the foot."
The turnover completely deflated the RedHawks on both sides of the ball. Miami failed to pose any scoring threat from that point on while the defense gave up 14 more points as Cincinnati cruised to a 45-20 victory.
"We've got a lot to work on this week but I think we can be a pretty good football team," Montgomery said. "We have not played anywhere near as well as we are capable of playing and we can not wait any longer."
The RedHawks have next week off before they take on Temple University Oct. 4 in Oxford.
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